[altlinux-announce-en] Distribution Release: ALT Server 11.1

Tue Mar 31 17:08:45 MSK 2026

Hello!

11.1 minor release of ALT Server operating system is available.

About previous version:
https://lists.altlinux.org/pipermail/altlinux-announce-en/2025/000048.html

The build is available for x86_64 and AArch64, based on the 6.12 (LTS) 
kernel.

Key updates since 11.0

Starting with major version 11.0, the distribution introduced two new 
concepts — components and editions. This release continues to advance 
that approach, with a strong focus on Alterator on D‑Bus based modules.
New system diagnostic capabilities added. The package management stack 
now includes safeguards against accidental removal of manually installed 
packages and base components. The following GUI tools are now available 
from the system menu: ALT Components (alt-components), ALT Packages 
(alt-packages), ALT Services (alt-services) and ALT System Information 
(alt-systeminfo).
A high‑performance and highly configurable RADIUS server, FreeRADIUS, 
added to the package base. The ncdu console utility is now included for 
interactive disk usage analysis. The GNOME desktop environment updated 
for graphical installations.

Download the release image:
http://ftp.altlinux.org/pub/distributions/ALTLinux/p11/images/server/
https://download.basealt.ru/pub/distributions/ALTLinux/p11/images/server/
http://mirror.yandex.ru/altlinux/p11/images/server/

Installer

* Edition selection moved to the installer interface — a single ISO can 
now deploy different configurations. Package lists are generated 
dynamically based on the selected edition. Each edition has its own 
package groups and package lists. Different editions represent distinct 
products.
* Documentation for both editions — Server and Domain — placed directly 
on the installation image.
* For debugging and compatibility purposes, two new boot menu entries 
added to the installer: Safe Mode (boots with minimal options for 
troubleshooting installation issues) and Change serial console (for 
users connecting via a COM port).
* The interface refined. User experience improvements include a QR code 
displayed on the final installer screen, linking to the documentation 
for the selected edition.

Alterator on D-Bus based applications

* The alteratorctl utility now features command completion and paged 
output. Its functionality brought closer to that of the graphical 
applications.
* ALT Packages allows users to conveniently manage package installation, 
updates, and removal without using the terminal. It supports both APT 
and RPM backends.
* Software installation, update and removal are available via 
alteratorctl or ALT Components.
* ALT Components and ALT Packages implement protection mechanisms that 
prevent accidental removal of critical system packages (Menu → Tools → 
System).
These are new mechanisms in Alterator:
- Edition protection: the system tracks which components are part of the 
base set for the selected edition and blocks their removal by default.
- Manual installation protection: if a package is marked with the APT 
manual flag (installed explicitly rather than as a dependency), the 
system prevents removal of any component or package that would result in 
the removal of that manually installed package.
It is recommended to keep these settings at their defaults, but the 
protection can be disabled via the application interface if needed.
* Component descriptions made more informative.
* The new ALT Services application allows system administrators to 
quickly deploy standard configurations using a GUI, without diving into 
configuration files. The current version provides:
- Samba AD (alterator-service-samba-ad): deploy and manage a domain 
controller. The service supports multiple modes — join an existing 
domain or create a new one.
- Chrony (alterator-service-chrony): configure an NTP server.
The framework is designed to be extensible, allowing administrators and 
developers to add new services.
* The ADT diagnostic tool interface improved. The Tool description tab 
now indicates whether tests target the system bus (System Service 
Testing) or the session bus (User Application Testing). This enables 
selective report generation — for a specific bus or combined. Support 
for pre and post diagnostics for domain controllers has also been added.
* ALT System Information provides detailed information about the 
installed system: version, edition, architecture, kernel, and license. 
It also includes support for launching desktop settings and features a 
revision wizard — changing the edition is accompanied by acceptance of 
the corresponding license agreement. ALT System Information thus 
combines license management, system information and environment settings 
in a single application.
Detailed system information now correctly reflects the selected edition.

Domain infrastructure and Group Policy

* Local user password management on directory service members 
implemented — LAPSv2 schema for Samba DC. Local password administration 
is available via the ADMC directory service management application 
starting from version 0.20. LAPS Group Policy settings are configured in 
GPUI using the admx-basealt 0.4 package, which provides a new template 
under System ALT → LAPS.
* The new Samba 4.21 release addresses critical security vulnerabilities 
and introduces several enhancements expanding domain controller 
functionality:
- LAPSv2 support added.
- The internal DNS server now appends IP addresses to domain controller 
name lists when responding to SRV queries. This reduces the number of 
DNS lookups and lowers overall load on the name resolution infrastructure.

Desktop Environment GNOME

* Wallpapers updated.
* A Tuner settings window added for GUI systems — it provides a minimal 
set of functionality that can be extended via plugins.
* Application session management introduced, allowing users to save and 
restore sets of open windows. To launch the settings window, run the 
following command in the terminal:
$ gnome-extensions prefs session-keeper at altlinux.org
* A convenient auto-sleep disable feature is now available via the 
Caffeine extension, which is placed on the toolbar by default.
* The Ptyxis terminal emulator has been added — a convenient tool for 
container workflows: new tabs open in the same container, and it 
supports tab pinning and session saving. The Ptyxis interface follows 
GNOME design guidelines.

Package Updates

System Environment
Glibc 2.38, GCC 13 compiler suite, systemd 257

Services and diagnostic tools
alteratorctl 0.2
alterator-service-chrony 0.4
alterator-service-samba-ad 0.7
diag-domain-client 0.7
diag-domain-controller 0.4
ncdu 1.19

Server software
MariaDB 11.8
PostgreSQL 18

Kea 3.0
NGINX 1.28
NetworkManager 1.54
OpenUDS 4.0
Proxmox VE Backup Server  4.0
Squid 7.3

Samba 4.21

Podman 5.7
Docker 29.2
Kubernetes 1.35

freeradius 3.2

Graphical applications and administration tools
GNOME 48.0
Chromium 144.0

alt-services 0.1
alt-components 0.6
alt-packages 0.3

More about the distribution images and updates:
https://packages.altlinux.org/en/p11/images/alt-server

Please find our distributions at:
https://getalt.org/en/